Food For Thought
"A domineering carny mind reader can taste his lovely assistants thoughts...but he'll have death for dessert." -- DVD description for the episode Plot A carnival psychic and part-time cook named Zambini (Ernie Hudson) goes off the deep jealous end when he soon finds out that his wife and assistant (Joan Chen) is in love with the show's fire-eater (John Laughlin). Also starring Phil Fondacaro. At the carnival, Zambini is cooking a meal for he and his wife Connie, when he tells her to concentrate so he can read her thoughts. She complains she is tired and asks if it isn't enough for him that she can read his. Her mind is a "morsel" that he craves, to which she replies everything is food to him. He makes guesses to what she's thinking about, and is denied. He tells her she needs to teach him how to read her mind like she does his. She storms away, only to be stopped by Zambini's inner thoughts. As he is licking his dinner plate, he is thinking dirty thoughts about how he wants her for dessert, making her increasingly uncomfortable. She tells him to stop, but he doesn't, saying "Zambini wants his favorite treat" to which she succumbs. He tells her no stopping this time, and while she is kissing him, he eats some chocolates from a box. At a carnival presentation, Zambini introduces Connie to the crowd, blindfolding her, and says that she will be his radio to which a heckling audience member says he wants to twist her dials. Zambini asks Connie what the heckler is wearing to which she responds 'dirty underwear', embarrassing the heckler. Zambini grabs something from the man's pocket and asks Connie what it is. It is a bible. The heckler picks a passage and Zambini asks Connie again what it is to which she correctly replies, gaining applause from the audience. Outside, a midget is hassling Nabunga, an ape by throwing food at her. The flame-eater, Johnny, intervenes and tells him to leave her alone. He then consoles Nabunga. After Zambini's show, Connie and Johnny lock eyes. Zambini comes out of the tent and tells Connie to go, with her saying she wants to stay. He tells her again she needs to leave with him. Johnny intervenes again and says to let Connie stay if she wants to. She ultimately leaves with Zambini. Later in their trailer, after Zambini has passed out with a plate of food in his lap, Connie leaves and catches Johnny taking care of Nabunga. They flirt for a bit and he tells her he is leaving for St. Louis. His cousin says there are jobs, and he offers her to come with him if she wants. Johnny says he can't stand the way Zambini treats her. Connie says he should be afraid of him, and she is afraid to leave him. She thinks Zambini is wearing makeup to hide from the authorities after he beat up his last assistant, possibly killing her. Connie and Johnny then kiss in the carnival tent. Zambini wakes up from his sleep, noticing she is gone, and tries to summon her. She hears him, and runs away from Johnny. At their trailer, Zambini says he read her mind and Connie doesn't believe him. He then grabs her and drags her away. The next day, Connie has a black eye and Johnny finds out. Connie says she is leaving with Johnny, telling him she loves him. They kiss. Behind them, Nabunga the ape, is freaking out in her cage. Zambini is taking out his frustrations in their trailer by cooking. Later that night, Johnny is saying his goodbye to Nabunga, when he is suddenly splashed with a bucket of something. He turns around and Zambini has a lit stick in his hand. He tells him if he plays with fire, he gets burned, then he throws the stick on him. Johnny is burned alive while Nabunga watches helplessly. The carnival crew makes a ruckus, and Connie finds out what happened to Johnny. She packs her things and leaves Zambini after his failed attempt to invade her thoughts to stop her. Zambini is alone in his trailer, drinking, when he tries to summon Connie telling her he forgives her for leaving him and begging her to come back to him. A voice responds that they're coming, and they can't stay away from him. Nabunga then crashes through the window in the roof and sees the butchers knife to the side. The voice then says they want to taste Zambini's mind, and Nabunga takes the knife and attacks Zambini. Afterwards, Nabunga is in her cage eating the brains from Zambini's severed head as the carnival crew looks on. Opening Segment '' "Hmm, frankly your hacks-rays look terrible. You've got to pay closer attention to your oral die-giene or you'll end up looking like me. I want you to brush after every meal, floss and gargoyle twice a day. Hmm, yes, looks like I'll have to drill. This won't hurt me a bit! In the meantie, to take your mind off the pain, I've got a little dose of fright-rous oxide for you. It's about a sideshow mind-reader who's lost his head over a pretty girl. I call it Food for Thought."'' Closing Segment '' "Mmm, yummy! I sure hope Nabunga ate it all. You know what they say, kiddies - a mind's a terrible thing to waste. Maybe she saved some for breakfast and had it in a brain muffin! I'm afraid it's going to have to come out. Oh, yes, it does. Now, put your head back! Open wider. Wider!"'' Keeper pulls out patient's tongue "They don't call me the tooth scary for nothing." Trivia Gallery Food-for-Thought-tales-from-the-crypt-40706497-1052-1600.jpg|Mike Vosburg's comic cover MV5BMTcwMDYzMDY4N15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMjQ5MTU2MjE@._V1_.jpg|Connie vlcsnap-00094.png vlcsnap-00304.png|Zambini tries to summon Connie vlcsnap-00306.png vlcsnap-00096.png|Zambini prepares to light Johnny on fire vlcsnap-00315.png|Johnny burns vlcsnap-00316.png vlcsnap-00098.png|''Now that's a man-eating gorilla.'' Category:Episodes Category:Tales from the Crypt Season 5 episodes Category:Tales from the Crypt Season 5